Plaza to open Sunday

A nearly yearlong celebration is set to climax Sunday with the grand

opening of the Corona del Mar Centennial Plaza.

“It’s been a wonderful trip,” said Wade Roberts, a Corona del Mar

Centennial Foundation board member. “It’s been challenging. We’ve had

wonderful people standing behind us to make this happen. But at the

same time, we’ll be glad to get some relief.”

The plaza, which is at the corner of East Coast Highway and

Marguerite Avenue, was almost a completed work on Friday. With the

exception for the planned installation of a time capsule containing a

microfilm history of Corona del Mar, the plaza was essentially

finished.

Perhaps the plaza’s most visible component is the green and bronze

Centennial Time Clock that was installed in early August. In the

weeks since, an 8-foot-tall polished granite obelisk engraved with

the names of centennial donors has been erected underneath the

24-foot-tall clock tower.

The ground surrounding the clock tower is covered with a wave-like

mosaic pattern that is composed of brown, beige and bone-colored

tiles.

Benches have been built on the edge of the corner plaza. More than

1,000 tiles decorated by foundation donors have been placed around

the benches. Many tiles are decorated with hand-painted images of

surfboards, beach scenes and similar designs.

“We have watched people when this was fenced off coming in and

looking at the tiles,” Roberts said. “People are thrilled. This is

community spirit.”

The plaza’s formal unveiling is scheduled as part of Sunday’s

grand-opening event, which is set to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Peggy

Fort, centennial foundation executive director, is anticipating a

sizable turnout.

“It’s going to be huge. I think we’re going to have a lot of

people here,” Fort said.

Bernie Svalstad, chairman of the centennial foundation, said he

looks forward to the plaza becoming a local landmark.

“It should be a historical spot in Newport Beach for the future,”

he said.

The commemoration of Corona del Mar’s 100 years was launched last

October. Fort said the beachside community’s origin is the July 1904

recording of the sale of land that became Corona del Mar.

According to the Centennial Foundation’s website, the neighborhood

was built after Los Angeles developer George Hart then purchased

706.8 acres from Irvine Co. founder James Irvine II.